Boston Neck

Boston Neck was a narrow strip of land connecting the then-peninsular city of Boston to the mainland city of Roxbury (now a neighborhood of Boston). The neck was about 120 feet wide at high tide, and the first wave of settlers built a wooden town gate and earthen wall at the neck in 1631; in 1710, additional fortifications were constructed with brick, stone, and earth. In 1774, Governor Thomas Gage strengthened the fortifications with timber and additional earth, and dug a ditch along the neck, isolating Boston from the mainland during high tide. In the late 18th century, following the American Revolutionary War, the residents started adding fill along the neck because the low-lying area was prone to erosion. Beginning in the 1830s, the Charles River tidal flats were filled in with train loads of gravel from Needham, creating the "Back Bay" section of the city. The adding of land replaced Boston Neck, which was now comfortably connected to the mainland, which was then annexed to the city of Boston.